Previous Story
TOBACCO MONEY CNMI gets $137K more from settlement
|
Posted on Dec 01 1999
The Northern Marianas has been awarded $137,531.25 in attorney’s fees and costs as part of its efforts in the massive tobacco settlement litigation, according to acting Attorney General Maya B. Kara.
This is on top of the $16 million share the CNMI has been granted under the $206-billion master tobacco settlement agreement reached last year with cigarette manufacturers in exchange for dropping of the lawsuits over health costs on treating sick smokers.
In a statement released yesterday, Ms. Kara said the award of attorney’s fees and costs is meant to compensate the Commonwealth for its part in the class action suit initiated by state governments across the nation.
“AGO attorneys worked long and hard to achieve this unprecedented award against the tobacco companies, many times participating in conference calls and planning strategy with other states and territories in the middle of the night, due to time differences,” the statement said.
The money should be released and received by the government in a few days, it added. The initial installment on the settlement agreement amounting to $207,000 should also be received shortly.
The deal stipulates that CNMI will receive payment annually in the year 2000 until 2024 ranging from half-a-million dollars to $700,000 from tobacco companies.
In order to get its share in the multi-billion tobacco case, the CNMI filed a lawsuit against four of the biggest tobacco companies on December 23, 1998, namely Philip Morris Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp. and Lorillard Tobacco Co.
Since the companies failed to file an appeal on January 23, 1999, Superior Court Presiding Judge Edward Manibusan declared the decision in favor of the CNMI final.
The settlement requires the industry to set up a charitable foundation aimed at reducing smoking among teens as well as to finance a $1.45 billion national public education for tobacco control.
